A drop in production this month has lead to an abnormal increase in price of egg. In many places in the city, eggs are sold at Rs. 5 to Rs. 5.50 a piece, and in some supermarkets, a six-egg pack is being sold for as much as Rs.40.
K.K. Nagar resident Vijayalakshmi Kamalakannan, who buys 10 eggs every day, says she has cut down on consumption. “The doctor has prescribed eggs for my son and he has to have at least two a day. My husband too likes to have eggs with dinner. On Sundays our consumption is more,” says the homemaker who buys eggs regularly from a wholesaler.
Aminjikarai resident Elijah Mathews says their family consumes around 70 eggs a week. “We bake our own bread, which takes up 15 eggs. The six of us consume one egg a day. Whether the prices go up or not, we have to have our quota of eggs,” he says. Due to increase in vegetable prices and fishing ban, many are going in for eggs. The drop in production has also meant a reduction in supply.
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Mohan Reddy, zonal chairman, National Egg Coordination Committee – Chennai, says production at Namakkal has reduced from 4 crore - 3.8 crore to 2.8 crore eggs a day owing to summer and reduction in number of birds.